Six Nations: Gavin Henson swapped silver for golden boots here but he was outshone by the dazzling feet of another Welshman with cockatoo hair, Shane Williams. Time and again the diminutive wing danced his way through the Italian defence and the gap between the skill levels of the two sides was starkly, painfully illustrated when the Italy full-back Roland De Marigny attempted a sidestep in the final minutes, tripped over his own feet, and tore ligaments in his ankle and knee.
The turning point for Wales can be traced back 15 months, to a World Cup pool game when the All Blacks almost paid the price for kicking the ball profligately at Williams. To the Italy coach John Kirwan's disgust, the Azzurri fell into the same trap and at times, the former All Black verged on the apoplectic. "The only positive is that we can't play that badly again," he said afterwards.
The afternoon had worrying implications for Italy as they prepare for a probable wooden spoon decider at Murrayfield. Kirwan will be without his star backrower Mauro Bergamasco, out for six weeks after breaking a cheekbone, while De Marigny's knee may require surgery, depriving Italy of their only reliable goal-kicker.
Wales' best championship start since they took their first three matches en route to winning 11 years ago means that a wave of expectation will now build around this side.
Williams' twinkling toes and sparkling passes played an influential role in four of Wales' six tries, including his own score just before the hour.
There was an air of confidence about the way this Welsh side made certain they played the game on their terms even after Luciano Orquera charged down Henson's chip-kick to put the Italians back in the running after Jonathan Thomas's fifth-minute try.
Although they struggled early on in the lineout, the tight Wales five comfortably matched their Italian counterparts - no mean outfit as Ireland will attest - as they had the English a week before. The back row were ubiquitous in support, the locks Brent Cockbain and Robert Sidoli kept cropping up in unlikely places, and the passing out of the tackle was swift and crisp.
"They are definitely championship material," said the Italy coach. "They are a lot more confident in what they are doing. If you give them space they can be outstanding."
Within the camp, rightly, the mood is more cautious. "We're good enough to do well," said Williams. "I'm not going to say we're good enough to win the tournament."
The change in the Welsh mindset is reflected in the captain Gareth Thomas's refrain that this is "a new team".
When the past was mentioned to Ruddock and Thomas they quickly changed the subject, even though the reference was only to Wales' bitter defeat here two years ago.
As the outhalf Stephen Jones acknowledges: "Everyone has been through such hard times over the years that we are not going to get carried away."
Not just yet.
ITALY: De Marigny (Parma); Mirco Bergamasco (Stade Français), Pozzebon (Treviso), Masi (Viadana), Nitoglia (Calvisano); Orquera (Padova), Troncon (Treviso); Lo Cicero (l'Aquila), Ongaro (Treviso), Castrogiovanni (Calvisano), Dellape (Agen), Bortolami (capt; Narbonne), Persico (Agen), Mauro Bergamasco (Stade Francais), Parisse (Treviso). Replacements: Dal Maso (Treviso) for Mauro Bergamasco (25 mins), Robertson (Viadana) for Mirco Bergamasco (55 mins), Griffen (Calvisano) for Troncon, Perugini (Calvisano) for Castrogiovanni), Del Fava (Parma) for Dellape (all 58 mins), Intoppa (Calvisano) for Ongaro (72 mins), Barbini (Padova) for De Marigny (77 mins)
WALES: G Thomas (Toulouse, capt); Luscombe (Newport-Gwent Dragons), Shanklin (Cardiff), Henson (Neath-Swansea Ospreys), S Williams (N-SO); S Jones (Montferrand), Peel (Llanelli); Jenkins (Cardiff), Davies (Gloucester), A Jones (N-SO)), Cockbain (N-SO), Sidoli (Cardiff), J Thomas (N-SO), M Williams (Cardiff), Owen (Newport-Gwent Dragons). Replacements: Morgan (N-GD) for G Thomas (55 mins), Morgan (N-GD) for Luscombe (55), Cooper (N-GD) for Peel (58 mins), McBryde (Llanelli) for Davies, Yapp (Cardiff) for A Jones, Gough (N-SO) for Sidoli (all 62 mins), Sweeney (N-GD) for S Jones (63 mins), Sowden-Taylor (Cardiff) for M Williams (74)
Referee: A Cole (Australia).
